Social network theory—an underutilized opportunity to align innovative methods with the demands of the opioid epidemic

ABSTRACT

It has been almost 3 years since the opioid epidemic was declared a national public health emergency under federal law. Solutions have focused on supply-reduction strategies. These approaches, however, have failed to significantly curtail opioid overdose and related death. Demand for opioid use arising from social networks and environment is an important contributing factor to the current opioid epidemic. Adoption of existing underused methods is needed to drive further progress. This Perspective proposes the social contagion model as a promising framework through which to operationalize evaluation of the influence of social networks and environment in the opioid epidemic and argues for its greater application. Comparing the current epidemic with previous opioid epidemics reiterates the utility of the social contagion model. This model acknowledges social network influence on individual behavior. It leverages tools from epidemiology, permits evaluation of interpersonal influence, facilitates consideration of disproportionate and collateral effects, and overcomes limitations of traditional models and geographic assumptions inherent to many approaches surrounding the current opioid epidemic. Analyzing the opioid epidemic within a social contagion framework will enhance evaluation methods and enable the design of interventions to reflect the actual demands of the current crisis. If the influence of social networks and environment is not considered, the devastating toll of the opioid epidemic could grow.

KEYWORDS:

• Opioid epidemic
• opioid overdose
• behavioral sciences
• sociology
• social contagion
• social network theory

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Mark P. MacEachern MLIS for assisting in literature review design to support this Methods in Addiction Research Perspective.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Academic Affiliations [National Clinician Scholars Program].